You'll be fine without me
by sparrabeth4ever
Summary: Jack and Elizabeth have a talk aboard the Black Pearl, and realise that what they want most is something they can never have.A sad Sparrabeth story...


**You'll be fine without me**

_"Jack…we can't keep on like this anymore. We have known it from the start…it just can't be."_

Jack stood at the helm of his ship, the Black Pearl, with closed eyes. Sadness had filled his heart, ever since he had left the only true love of his life, except for his ship of course, Elizabeth Swann. Her words were stuck in his memory, ever since that night for a few weeks ago.

_"I have to marry Will, Jack. I love him."_

Jack sighed. He thought about it, every hour, every minute and every second of the day. How sad Elizabeth had been when she told him that what he was hoping for could never be, and the way she made him feel in that moment. He had never felt this way before, and when he finally was able to love someone, it was someone who could never be his. She was all he thought about, and he remembered everything about her. Her breathtaking beauty, her courage, the way they had played with each others feelings and the fact that she was a pirate, she even knew it herself. He loved her, but it had caused him too much pain. So, he had nothing else to do but to sail away from her and her fiancé William Turner. But he would never get that night out of his head…

_Suddenly Jack realised Elizabeth was gone. Where was she? He looked around, but couldn't see her anywhere near. Then he turned around and saw a dark shadow running down the streets, past drunk sailors and fighting men, to the harbour of Tortuga. He knew it was her._

_"Jack!" Will said, behind him._

_Jack turned around. Will looked worried._

_"Have you seen Elizabeth?" he asked._

_Jack thought for a moment, but then decided not to tell Will._

_"Mate, you should really lock her up sometime", he answered, with a sigh. "No, I have no idea where she is."_

_Will was about to say something more, but Jack forgot all about him and went down to the Pearl, where he knew he'd find Elizabeth._

_She stood at the helm, watching the stars above. Jack climbed aboard the Pearl and walked towards her. Elizabeth turned around when she heard the sound of his footsteps._

_"Jack…" she said, and turned her gaze to the sky again._

_He walked up the stairs. The moonlight made her eyes glisten. Or was it tears? He didn't know, but would soon find out._

_"Elizabeth" Jack said, "what are you doing here?"_

_She smiled, still with her eyes on the night sky._

_"I just…I just needed to be alone for a while."_

_"Darling, usually that means somehing is wrong, and the way your staring out in the sky makes me wonder; what is on your mind?" Jack asked, and took her hand. She smiled as he touched her, it felt safe. She wanted to throw her arms around him, all she wished for was him to hold her. But she didn't do anything. So Jack went a bit closer to her, and let his hand move up along her arm. She shivered._

_"Jack," Elizabeth said, "I love Will. But…but do you think that, even if I love someone, I could feel lost sometimes?"_

_Jack could now clearly see the tears in her eyes._

_"Well…" he said "how do you feel lost, in what way?"_

_Elizabeth looked at him with a sad smile._

_"You know, Jack."_

_And he did. For a moment, they just stared into each other's eyes, captured by the attratcion between them. Jack leaned closer to her, their faces were only a few inches away from each other._

_"I do know", he said, and then he couldn't keep his feelings away. He kissed her passionately, and she kissed him back. They were completely lost in each other, and Jack wrapped his arms around Elizabeth. It was like nothing else existed anymore, they could just stay that way forever. But after a while, Elizabeth realised what was happening. She was falling in love with someone else, and she just couldn't allow that. So, very reluctantly, she pulled her lips away from Jack._

_"I'm sorry…" she whispered and pushed him away. She turned to leave, but Jack said:_

_"Don't go, Lizzie." He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She looked away._

_"I have to go, Jack" she said, as the tears streamed down her face._

_"You don't want to go, love" he answered and was about to kiss her again, but she stopped him._

_"Jack…we can't keep on like this anymore. We have known it from the start…it just can't be."_

_Their eyes met, and Jack wiped her tears away._

_"Why not?" he asked._

_Elizabeth backed away from him and looked down._

_"I have to marry Will, Jack. I love him."_

_"And what about all this? What about freedom? And what about me?"_

_Elizabeth closed her eyes and fought hard not to cry anymore, but failed. She looked up._

_"Jack. It's…it's just not possible. I can't do this to Will, I can't leave him heartbroken."_

_"But it's alright to leave me heartbroken?" Jack asked, fighting desperately against the impulse to kiss her again. Elizabeth smiled sadly._

_"You'll be fine without me, Jack. We would be alright without each other. This can't go on. It doesn't mean that what we feel isn't true…it just can't be."_

_Jack didn't know what to say anymore. She was right, he knew it, and if this was how she wanted it to be, it just had to be this way. But one last time he just wanted to show her what she had done to him, so therefore, he reached down his pocket._

_"Well…"he said and moved towards her, "if this is how it ends…", he took her hand, "then I want you to have this." He placed the compass in her hand._

_"Why? I can't take this. You need it!" she said._

_He smiled._

_"It won't work for me anyway, love. But I want you to have it, so that you always can find your way back to me."_

_"I'm so sorry, Jack", Elizabeth said. He caressed her cheek._

_"I know, Lizzie", he whispered softly, and kissed her one last time. She then turned and walked away from him, without looking back. It was too painful for her. And all Jack could do was to stand there all alone, watching her run away from him._

Elizabeth stood on her balcony, watching the sunset. Tomorrow was her wedding day, and she had never been this sad in her whole life. All she could think about was Jack, and their goodbye. Would she ever see him again? She held the compass in her hands. Did she dare to look? She opened it, and just as her heart had told her, just as she knew it would, it pointed straight out at sea. She smiled. Yes, Captain Jack Sparrow, she thought to herself, one day we'll meet again.


End file.
